Pokemon: First Covenant
by Xarkyte
Summary: A young Delia and her friend, Vinny, begin their own Pokemon journey, but soon begin to uncover a secret buried deep beneath the careful facade of their beloved Kanto Region.
1. Prologue

Prologue:

The sky was bright and pale on the day her son left. Delia Ketchum watched him go, so full of hope and excitement for the journey ahead. So much like his father. Just as single-minded, too: he'd been in such a rush to get his first Pokemon, he didn't even change out of his pajamas. It was funny, knowing that this might be her last glimpse of him. She wasn't sure if she should laugh or cry. For a long time, she sat in her living room in silence, watching her only child follow that small dirt path between their home and the rest of his life.

After he vanished behind a bend in the road, she found herself opening a hallway closet and dusting off an old shoebox. Inside, she found a yellowed photograph of two children playing with a machoke, and a young man anxiously looking on. She smiled fondly, and placed the box back where she found it. She drifted into the kitchen and began making dinner.

That's when it hit her: she was all alone. No child to feed, no husband to talk to, no Pokemon to train. Her house had never felt emptier. Knowing that she might never see her son again made it even worse. Her little boy had grown up in this house and was, even now, sprinting towards adulthood. Thinking about the years ahead, she became terrified.

It wasn't the journey that frightened her. The adventure he had embarked on was dangerous, yes, but it would be no trouble for him. Ash was strong, and she had faith in his skills as a trainer. It wasn't his enemies, even those out for blood, nor was it the Legendaries he would be forced to fight. These were nothing, a game crafted for a child. What made Delia's blood turn to ice was the knowledge she kept deep inside her heart, that only crept into her mind in the darkest hours of the night. She knew what was to come, and she hoped against hope that her son would never see the day it all came to pass.

Hell was on the horizon, and its approach was swift as lightning.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

The laboratory was messy, with boxes piled to the ceiling after what was, obviously, a hasty move-in. It was decorated with four steel tables, all bolted to the floor, and a dozen or so cabinets lining the walls white, sparsely decorated walls. The building belonged to one Professor Samuel Oak, who had only just received his doctorate two years prior. Normally, it was a busy place, with the Professor trying to catch up on all the work he's postponed after moving to Pallet Town. Today, though, the man was nowhere to be seen. In his place was his young assistant, Delia, revolving slowly in a swivel chair.

The other professors in the region found it odd that he would hire a ten-year-old as an assistant, but she had proven herself more than capable during their short time together. She was a small girl, quiet. She sat in that chair for a long time, making lazy pirouettes and picking at her fingernails.

A young boy burst into the room, eyes wide and smile wider. Vinny was as young as Delia, with chestnut hair and eyes about the same. He and Delia had been friends for most of their lives, which isn't unheard of in a town with no more than ten houses.

"Where is he?" Vinny asked, anxious to get started on the Very Special Assignment Oak had asked the two of them to complete. Delia shrugged. She looked sad.

Before he could ask her about that, though, Oak stumbled through the front door, carrying two dozen books of various sizes. He shouted a quick "hello" at Vinny before tripping over a stool. Vinny and Delia rushed over to help him up. As they did, Vinny noticed that all of the books were about Pokemon evolution.

They piled all the books on a nearby table, and stood in front of him, patiently waiting for him to start talking. Oak sank into the swivel chair to catch his breath. He was a young man, no older than thirty, with sun-kissed skin and eyes far older than his years. If you looked into them long enough, you might even catch a glimpse of the trainer he once was: determined, powerful, strong. Usually, though, you find the eyes of a man long past his prime: curious, anxious, and more than a little bit sad.

"Right," Professor Oak said after finally regaining his composure, "Vinny, thank you for coming. As you both know, this task I've elected for you to do is important. _Vital,_ in fact. The fate of the entire _world_ is depending on it." Vinny smiled and rolled his eyes. That was the Professor, always cracking jokes. The man got up and disappeared into a storage closet. Vinny smiled at Delia, who shifted uncomfortably and stared at the floor.

"Are you okay?" He asked, brows knit. How could she not be bursting with excitement right now?

She nodded and smiled, but there was pain behind her eyes. Before he could press further, the Professor finally emerged from the closet holding a small metal box no larger than a deck of cards.

"This," he told them, puffing out his chest in mock pomp-and-circumstance, "is your payload. Inside this nondescript box is a tiny sliver of DNA, harvested from a super-rare Pokémon. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to get this DNA to my colleagues in Viridian City. Do you think you two are up to the task?"

"Yes!" Vinny jumped into a superhero stance. "We won't let you down! Right, Delia?"

She looked up and nodded, a soft smile touching her lips.

"Excellent! Now, the road ahead is dangerous, so you two will need some help." He stood up and began making his way over to a small desk in the far corner of the room. Vinny perked up, and followed on the man's heels. Was it time? Was he finally going to receive a partner, his very own Pokemon? Even Delia seemed to forget about whatever dark cloud was following her that day.

Oak slid open a drawer, and pulled out three pokéballs, stainless steel spheres the size of softballs, with a spring-loaded hinge on one end. Each had a name tag tied around it with twine: Meowth, Weedle, and Pidgey.

"Now, I don't have a huge collection, but you can take your pick from these three." Vinny stared in awe at the choice before him. This wasn't just "some help," to be used for this task and then cast aside on its completion; no, this was a companion he'd be training with for years to come. It was not a decision to be made lightly.

Delia snatched up the Meowth, seemingly without a second thought. She and Oak looked at Vinny expectantly, so he quickly grabbed the Weedle and tried not to look embarrassed. The Professor gave them a map, wished them luck, and sent them on their way.

When Vinny walked, blinking, into the sunlight, he felt different. For the first time, he had responsibilities, purpose. He was looking at the world through new eyes. The familiar town he'd known all his life, with its dirt roads and cottages built by hand, suddenly felt so small. It always was, of course; Oak had to draw it in on the maps he gave them. Now, though, he could feel it. He could feel the vastness of the Kanto region, just moments ago out of reach, which he had never seen except in pictures and weekends to Viridian City. With this Weedle at his side, he saw all the years ahead of him: the adventures he could have, the people he could meet, the battles he could win. All the countless lives he could live were suddenly laid bare, just within arm's reach. All he had to do was grab hold of one, and never let go.

This premonition vanished, like a flash in the dark, leaving only pride and hope in its place. Delia was just outside her house now, and he had to run to catch up to her. Once he did, he posed a question he'd been waiting to ask for years:

"Wanna battle?"

At first she looked confused, then amused, and finally determined.

"It's why they're here, isn't it?"

Pallet Town had one "arena." It was fashioned out of rocks, which were arranged into a crude rectangle. Because most of the town's denizens were farmers, it was rarely used, save for the occasional trainer presentation for the kids. It had been some time since such an event, so the dandelions were in full bloom and the grass was up to their calves. The children ignored it, though, and released their new friends.

Vinny held the pokéball tight, and pressed the button on the front. The contraption jerked open, and a stream of light poured onto the ground. In an instant, the light took shape, and suddenly, the Weedle was sitting right in front of him.

She was a tiny thing, no longer than his forearm, with beady eyes poking out behind her big red nose and beneath the single horn growing out the top of her head, which matched the one at the end of her tail. She looked around, vaguely bewildered, and then up at him. He knelt down and reached out. At first she backed away, but slowly inched towards him. He pet her down the back and she purred softly, leaning into his touch.

"Hey girl," he whispered, "my name's Vinny. What's yours?" She cocked her head, confused. He giggled.

"Are you ready?!" Delia and her Meowth looked strong, determined. Vinny stood up and nodded. The Weedle looked at him, then at Delia, then her Meowth. She hopped into a fighting stance and hissed at her opponent.

Delia shouted an order, and her Meowth sprang forward, claws poised to strike. The Weedle tried to dodge, but the Meowth was faster. It scratched her down the side, but not hard enough to spill blood. Weedle shot a string of silk out of its tail, which covered Meowth. It went in for another scratch, but it was too slow. Weedle rolled out of the way and, at Vinny's advice, launched into Meowth, driving her horn into its side. The trainers noticed purple ooze seeping from the wound. Meowth was poisoned.

Weedle shot more silk at it, but it clawed through the strands and took another swipe at her. She took the brunt of the attack across the face. She shook it off and stung the Meowth in the leg. This time it wasn't poisoned, but it stumbled back.

Both Pokemon were in bad shape. Vinny clenched his fist and wiped his brow. Weedle inched forward, preparing for another attack. Meowth extended its claws. For a brief moment, everything was calm. The grass shifted in the breeze, and the clouds passed lazily by overhead.

The Meowth lurched forward and dug its claws into Weedle's neck.

She fainted. Delia won.

Vinny stood stock-still, frozen by shock. Delia recalled her Meowth and danced a victory jig, which mostly consisted of thrashing her arms and chanting "I won, I won" over and over. Vinny pressed the button on the pokéball again, and a beam of light hit the Weedle. She became engulfed in it, and then lost her form entirely as the stream carried her back into the cool, metal sphere.

He noticed Delia running towards him, and quickly tried to choke down the tears welling in his throat.

"That was amazing!" She cried as she threw herself into a hug that knocked him to the ground. He shook his head and sat up. "I had no idea battling would be so much fun!" She was beaming ear-to-ear, and whatever burden she had been carrying was gone, at least for the moment. He couldn't help but smile.

The two stood up, brushed the dirt off their clothes, and raced each other back into town. They would continue at this breakneck pace tomorrow, and the day after, and all the years to come, only stopping after reaching adulthood, to wonder what could have been had they not started at all. In this moment, though, they were alive, with the world at their feet and the sun at their backs. All they had to do was grab hold of tomorrow, and never let go.


End file.
